Rapid growth; Professionalism key to program success.

Canada will assume the lead role for NATO in training Afghanistan's most senior police officers.

Canadians will be 24 of the 34 mentors advising generals from Afghanistan's four police forces, as well as top officials in the Interior Ministry, says the Canadian general who runs training across Afghanistan.

"An increased presence of police professionals at the centre of the police development agenda is what Canada has chosen to do in a big way," said Maj.-Gen. Stu Beare, the Canadian army general who runs police training for NATO across Afghanistan. "There is a shift out of the south to Kabul, out of the basic training system and junior level training right into the heart of the Interior Ministry and the police."

The police advisers from Canada are to be based in Kabul. They will replace a group of junior Canadian police officers who have spent the past few years working at a grassroots level with police in Kandahar. The move to the Afghan capital comes after Ottawa directed that Canada's military and civilian presence in Kandahar be reduced to zero by the end of the year.

The change in how Canada assists the Afghan police came after a visit to Kabul earlier this year by senior officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Ontario Provincial Police and the Montreal and Durham Region police.

"There are some things that Canada wants to achieve in rule of law and developing and professionalizing the police," said Insp. Jean-Marc Nadeau of Portage la Prairie, Man., who has been advising the Afghan government on the rule of law for several months.

"They are very influential positions. They are a huge influencer," said Beare, citing Canadian partnership roles involving the border police and Kabul traffic police as well as issues involving gender and human rights.

There are 950 Canadian soldiers deploying to northern Afghanistan this year as trainers for Afghan security forces. These troops are meant to replace the more than 3,000 soldiers who have been serving as combat or combat support troops in the south, where the five-year mission officially ends in six days.

Beare will be promoted to lieutenant-general later this summer. After that, the artillery officer is to become the commander of all Canadian troops overseas, replacing Lt.-Gen. Marc Lessard, who is retiring.

Over the past year in Afghanistan, Beare has overseen a mostly U.S.-funded recruiting drive that has increased the four Afghan police forces to 120,000 members from 90,000.

NATO's goal is to further expand the police to 157,000 members.

U.S. President Barack Obama recently committed to greatly reducing the number of U.S. troops and the cost of the Afghan mission over the next 18 months and repeated a promise to have all U.S. combat forces home by the end of 2014.

While acknowledging the fierce debate in Washington, where some senators and congressmen from both parties have demanded steep Afghan cuts, Beare said: "The resources we need for 2012 have already been programmed and I am confident that they will be approved."

But Obama's announcement is likely to give NATO plans added impetus to have Afghans take over the police training system. The U.S. cuts come as NATO decided last month to extend the basic patrolmen's course for Afghan police to eight weeks from six. Literacy courses for Afghan police are also being expanded to 96 hours from 64.

Even with these extensions, as Afghan forces become professional enough to take over training, NATO's training costs will drop, Beare said.